Tight lock car coupler



H. E.'VAN DORN TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Oct. '18, 1949.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 27, 1946 Oct. 18,1949. E, VAN BOR 2,485,338

TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Filed May 27, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 v 17 /6)? forWZ- 4 M ZZZ 021 1 Oct. 18, 1949. H. E. VAN DORN 2,485,338

TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Filed May 2'7, 1946 '4 Sheets-Sheeti I If Oct.18, 1949. H. E. VAN DORN 2,485,338

.TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Filed May 2'7, 1946 4 Shees-Sheet 4 57%171271-ma WM Patented Oct. 18 1949 TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Herbert E. Van Dorn,Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Dornvan Corporation, a corporation ofIllinois Application May 27, 1946, Serial No. 672,383

14 Claims.

1 .The present invention relates to that type of tight lock carcouplerwherein there is employed a hook shaped link adaptedautomatically to interlock with a link on an opposing coupler incoupling; and it has for its object to produce a simple and novelconstruction that will make the connection between two couplers veryrigid and at the same time provide means to compensate for wear ineither or both of two cooperating couplers, and in which unlocking topermit two couplers subsequently to pull apart requires but littleeffort.

In a well known rigid tight lock linkless coupler, a hollow coupler headhas on one side of the longitudinal axis a forwardly projecting nose andis open at the front beside the nose; there being within the head, onthe opposite side from the nose, a cam shaped locking dog thatautomatically engages the outer side of the nose of an oncoming couplerand wedges it against the nose of the coupler in which the dog islocated. Viewed in one of its aspects, the present invention may be saidto have for its object to transform this latter type of tight lockcoupler into one provided with a hook shaped coupling link, whileretaining the desirable characteristics resulting from the use of camshaped locking dogs.

The various features of novelty whereby the present invention ischaracterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in theclaims, but, for a full understanding of the invention and of itsobjects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a, horizontal section through a coupler embodying thepresent invention, the parts being shown in uncoupled positions and thenose of a companion coupler being shown in broken lines in coupledrelation with respect thereto; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1,showing only a fragment of the coupler, with the looking means for thelink set in release position for uncoupling; Fig. 3 is a View similar to.Fig. 2,

7 showing the link pressed back as two couplers are being pulled apart,and the locking dog for the link on its way toward its coupled anduncoupled position; Fig. 4 is an elevational View of the coupler, with aportion of coupler head and Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. 2;only a small fragment being shown; Fig. 9 is a section on line 99 ofFig.3, only enough parts being shown to illustrate the relation of thelink-operated rocker to the locking dog mechanism; and Fig. 10 is anaxial section through the hinge pin for the dog that locks the couplinglink and the bearing blocks therefor, showin the means to preventrelative rotation between the pin and the blocks.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a hollow coupler head having aforwardly projecting nose 2 on one side of the longitudinal axis andbeing otherwise open at the front end. The head has a narrow, flat,vertical surface 3,,arranged at an angle of about 45 to the longitudinalaxis just within the open end at the side opposite the nose. The nosehas on the outer side, adjacent to the base thereof, a surface d thatparallels the surface 3, and it may have another similar surface 5 onthe outer side of the nose, at the tip. These surfaces on the nosecooperate with surface 3 in a companion coupler head when two likecouplers come together, causing the noses to be moved laterally intoproper positions relative to each other. Within the head, just behindthe inclined surface 3, is a cam shaped locking block 6. This block ismounted on a vertical shaft I which, in turn, has bearings ineccentrically located openings in cylindrical bearing blocks 8, 8 in thetop and bottom wa1ls, respectively, of the head. The locking block has apair of radia1 arms, 9, 9,and each bearing block has a single radia1 armill. A vertical pin l l extends through all four of these arms close totheir outer ends. A suitable spring device is connected to the pin toact on the same in such a way as to tend to hold the locking block swungforward against a rib I2 in the front end of the head, as shown. Thisspring device may conveniently consist of a rod 14 connected at one endto pin ll 50 as to be free to turn thereon; a long sleeve l5 into oneend of which 7 ing at its rear end against a head or collar I8 shank insection, looking at the side which is at the bottom in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 isan elevation view, looking at the opposite side of the coupler; Fig. 6is a section on line 66 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of thelocking dog for the link;

on the rod, while the front end abuts against a wall I9 closing thefront end of the sleeve. The parts are so proportioned and arranged thatwhen the locking block is moved in the clockwise direction as viewed inFig. 1, the spring is compressed and energy is stored up to swing theblock back again to the idle postion. The free 3 end of the lockingblock has a cam face that bears against a flat vertical face 2| on theouter side of the nose of a companion coupler in coupling; face 2| beingvertical and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the coupler.

The interlock between the noses of two couplers is not through directcontact between them, upon making a coupling, but through the engagementof members movably mounted in the noses so as to protrude therefrom forcoupling and be retracted for uncoupling. In the arrangement shown,there is a long link '23 ex tending lengthwise of the coupler fromwithin the head behind the nose forwardly into the latter. The link issecured at its rear end to the coupler head by a vertical pin 24, whilethe front end of the link is in the form of a neck adapted to swing inand out through a window 26 in the inner side of the nose. Therearwardly facing working face 21 of the hook is parallel to the face 3in the head, when the coupler is idle, while the outer corner of thehook at the front end is cut away to create a bevel 28 inclinedoppositely to face 21. At the rear end of the link is a tail 29 which isadapted to strike against a vertical longitudinal wall 30 in the rearend of the coupler head to limit the swinging movement of the link inone direction.

The link is held with its tail pressed against the wall 30, as in Fig.l, by a locking dog 32 more or less similar to the locking block 6,while the coupler is idle. This dog is mounted on a vertic'al pin 33,supported in the head, close to the adjacent side of the latter, forswinging movements toward and from the link. When in its lockingposition, the dog engages a lug 34 on the outer edge of the linkadjacent to the hook end of the latter; the contacting faces of the dogand the lug, 35 and 35, respectively, being sections of a cylinderhaving its axis coinciding with the axis of the shaft 33. The dog maystrike against a lug 31 in the head at the base of the nose, when in itslocking position, to prevent it from travelling past that position. Atthis time the dog stands substantially at right angles to a radius fromthe hinge axis of the link and tangent to the faces 35 and 36. In otherwords, the locking dog constitutes a strut or column that receives thethrust of the link when forces are applied to the latter tending toswing it into its retracted position. As is the case with the hinge pinfor locking block 6, hinge pin 33 for 'dog 32 is mounted eccentricallyin upper and lower cylindrical bearing blocks rotatable, respectively,in the upper and lower walls of the head. Each of these bearing blocks,31, 31, has a radial arm 38, while the dog has two radial arms 'orwings, 3'9, 39, in spaced relation, one above the other and each lyingclose to one of arms 33. A vertical pin 40 extends through all four ofthese arms. There is no capacity for relative bodily movement betweenthe pin and the arms on the bearing blocks, but the openings in the armson the locking dog through which the pin passes are arcuate slots 4|, sothat the bearing blocks and the dog are movable angularly relatively toeach other through a distance determined by the length of the slots.

Pin 40 serves also to connect actuating devices for the dog and thebearing blocks. One such actuating device is very similar to the springdevice associated with locking block 6, differing only in minor details.Thus, a sleeve 43 has at one end a fork or jaw 44 through the arms ofwhich the pin 40 extends, this fork or jaw being interposed between thearms or wings 39 on the locking dog. Telescoped within this sleeve is arod 45 having at the outer, rear end a head 46 that is attached to apart of the coupler head casting by a hinge pin 41. Surrounding thesleeve is a compression spring 48 one end of which bears against part 46'on the anchored rod while the other end abuts against a collar orfiange 49 at the base of the jaw or fork 44. The spring device is soplaced that it serves both to hold the dog in its locking position, asin Fig. 1, and the release position of Fig. 2; the device snapping pastcenter when the dog is swung in either direction past a predeterminedintermediate point between its two extreme positions.

The second actuator for the locking dog is a bar 53, one end of whichlies in the jaw or fork 44 and is connected to the pin 40 so as to becapable of swinging thereon. The bar has therein a closed slot 5| whichextends through almost the entire length thereof. A pin 52, passingthrough this slot, serves to connect the bar to an intermediate .pointin the length of an operating lever 53. The forward end of this lever isfastened to the coupler head casting by a hinge pin 54. A torsion spring55, surrounding the hinge pin, tends constantly to hold the lever closeto the coupler head as in Fig. 1. Spring 48 serves a similar purposewhen permitted to shift the dog into its locking position, because pin52 is then at the outer end of slot 5| in the bar that connects thelever to the dog.

After the locking dog has been swung into the release position and isbeing held there by the spring device associated therewith, this springdevice must be shifted back past center before it can again becomeeffective to return the dog to its looking or coupling position. This isaccomplished by the link which has on the outer side, at the hinged end,a projecting finger 51 that is approximately radial to the hinge pin 24for the link. This finger lies in front of the inner end of a rockermember 58 in the coupler hea'd near and secured to the bottom wall ofthe latter by a pin or journal member 53 that passes through the sameabout midway between the ends thereof. As best shown in Figs. 5 and 8,the rocker lies in the plane of the arm 38 on the lower bearing block 31for the hinge pin 33. The parts are so proportioned that when thelocking dog is swung into its release position the free end of that armis brought just in front of the outer end of rocker 58. Then, when thelink 23 is swung back into the nose of the coupler to its retractedposition, the finger 51 on the link turns rocker 58 so that its outerend drives the locking dog assembly toward the locking position of thedog. This movement of the locking dog assembly is sufficient to throwthe spring device past center and thus make it ready to move the lockingdo the rest of the way to the locking position.

In order to guard against any relative angular movements between the twobearing blocks 31, 31 tied together by the pin 40, I lock them to theheavy hinge pin 33 for the locking dog 32; the bearing blocks therebybecoming eccentrics attached to the hinge pin. This is convenientlyaccomplished, as best shown in Fig. 10, by providing this hinge pin witha keyway 60 that extends throughout the length of the same and securingin the hinge pin openings 6| in the bearing blocks longitudinal keys 82that area good sliding fit in the keyway. These keys are preferably setin grooves 63 cut into the blocks, and are preferably shorter than thethicknesses of the blocks. Consequently, welds 64 may be made at theends of the keys within the grooves to hold the keys in place. Inassembling the parts in a coupler head, it is easy to align the groovesin the two bearing blocks and then drop the hinge pin in when its keywayregisters with the keys.

The operation of the coupler will now be described. In Fig. 1 of thedrawings the parts of the complete coupler shown there are in theirnormal, idle positions ready for permitting the coupler to coupleautomatically with a companion coupler when the two are broughttogether. These positions are also the coupled positions for all of theparts except the locking block 6 and the parts by which its movementsare controlled. When two couplers approach each other to effect acoupling, the nose in each enters the open front end of the other,pushing back both locking blocks. In Fig. 1 the nose of a second coupleris shown in broken lines in its coupled position relative to the othercoupler. In swinging back, the locking block and the eccentrics 8 turntogether. Therefore, with the parts assembled in the manner shown, thehinge pin 1 is shifted laterally away from the longitudinal axis of thecoupler and carries the locking block along with it. That permits theblock to drop in place against the flat face 2| on the outer side of thenose of the second coupler. As soon as that occurs, the spring actuatingdevice associated with the locking block begins to pull on the block andeccentric assembly in a direction tending to swing the locking blockback 'toward the position which it occupies in Fig. 1. The eccentricsand the cam face 20 on the looking block cooperate to force the nose ofthe second coupler toward the other nose, causing the hooks on the twolinks to be pressed tightly against each other while the inclined face 4of the second coupler bears against the inclined face 3 in the firstcoupler head. The only contact between the two links, while interlocked,is along their inclined faces 21. in one coupler, in coupling, isduplicated in the other: the final result being that each link is lockedin place in the nose of the corresponding coupler by its locking dog 32,so as to form with the nose a rigid unit; and each such unit istight-locked with the other by the action of the locking blocks 6 andthe "inclined faces 3 in the coupler heads just in front of the lockingblocks.

When it isdesired to uncouple, either or both uncoupling levers areswung out from the position occupied by the lever in Fig. 1 to that inwhich it is shown in Fig. 2. Let it be assumed that only one of thelevers is operated; the locking dogbeing held in its release position bythe spring device that has been moved past center. As soon as theoperator lets go of the lever, spring 55 swings the lever against theside of the coupler; this being permitted by the 'pin and slotconnection between the lever and bar 50. With the locking dog back inthe release position, as in Fig. 2, the link is free to swing back intothe nose wherein it is mounted. The spring actuating devices for the twolocking blocks 6 now push the two noses proper closer to each other,because one of the links (the one that has been unlocked), no longeroffers any resistance to such movement. While this relative bodilymovement What happens of the two couplers is small, it may be sufficientto start a movement of the rocker 58 in the direction to trip the springactuator for the locking dog. Such initial movement of the rocker is notdepended upon to throw the spring actuator past center. A greatermovement of the rocker occurs as the couplers pull apart from eachother, through the action of the inclined faces 21 on the links. As thecouplers begin to separate, these inclined faces act as wedges to pushthe loose link progressively farther back in the nose that houses it.Thus the rocker is turned far enough to force the spring actuator pastcenter, whereupon the actuator drives the locking dog forward until itstrikes against the rear edge of lug 34 on the link and comes to a stop.When the links become completely disengaged from each other the lockingdog beside the loose link, acting in the manner of a cam on lug 34 onthe link, drives the link back into its normal coupling position anditself resumes the position in which it serves as a strut to hold thelink immovable in its coupler head; the conditions illustrated in Fig. 1having been reestablished.

When both couplers are unlocked for uncoupling, the action is the sameas that just described, except that both links are loose and bothlocking dogs must be tripped during uncoupling.

It should be noted that when it is desired to swing a locking dog intoits release position for uncoupling, the pressure between the dog andthe corresponding link is fully released before any turning force isapplied to the dog itself. This is due to the fact that pin 40 must movethrough the length of slots Al in the arms or wings of the locking dogupon swinging the operating lever 53 outward, while the dog is in theposition shown in Fig. 1, before the dog starts to turn. In the meantimethe eccentrics have been turning and have shifted the dog bodilylengthwise thereof away from the lug on the link, thus releasing thepressure between the dog and the link.

While I have illustrated and described with particularly only a singlepreferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to theexact details thus illustrated and described, but intend to cover allforms and arrangements that come within the definition of my inventionconstituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and anopening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, amember mounted in the nose so as to be movable from a retracted positionto a coupling position in which a part thereof protrudes from the innerside of the nose to interlock with a like part in a companion coupler toeffect a coupling, a device to lock said member in the couplingposition, means to shift said device into a release position, meanscontrolled by movement of said member during the act of uncoupling againto force said member into the coupling position and the device into itslocking position, and means in the head on the opposite sideof the axisof the head from that on which the nose is located automatically topress against an incoming nose of a companion coupler to hold the twonoses in a tight lock.

2. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and anopening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, amember mounted in the nose so as to be movable from a retracted positionto a coupling position 76 in which a part thereof protrudes from theinner "side of the nose and has an inclined, rearwardly directedtransverse face to engage with the corresponding face on a like memberin a companion coupler to effect a coupling, the inclination of saidfaces being such that the said members in both couplers are forced intotheir retracted positions when two couplers pull apart from each other,a device to lock said member in the coupling position, means to shiftsaid device into a release position, means controlled by movement ofsaid member during the act of uncoupling again to force said member intothe coupling position and the device into its locking position when twocouplers pull apart, and means in the head automatically to press anincoming nose of a companion coupler to bring the two noses into a tightlock while the movable members thereon remain locked in their respectivecoupling positions.

3. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and anopening beside the latter to receive'the nose of a companion coupler, amember mounted in the nose so as to be rock- .able from a retractedposition within the nose to a coupling position in which a part thereofprotrudes from the inner side of the nose to interlock with a like partin a companion coupler to effect a coupling, a stop to engage with saidmember in the coupling position, a device to lock said member againstsaid stop, means to shift said device intoa position that leaves saidmember free to rock into the retracted position, means controlled bymovement of said member during the act of uncoupling again to force saidmember into the coupling position and the device into its lockingposition, and means in the head on the opposite side of the axis of thehead from that on which the nose is located automatically to press anincoming nose of a companion coupler to hold the two noses in a tightlook while the movable members thereon remain locked against theirrespective stops.

4. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and anopening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, along link in and extending lengthwise of the nose, the link having atits front end a hook to interlock with a similar hook on a companioncoupler and being hinged at its rear end so as to be movable from acoupling position in which the hook protrudes from the inner side of thenose to a retracted position, a device to lock the link in the couplingposition, means to shift the device into a release position, meanscontrolled :by movement of the link during an uncoupling operation toforce the link into the coupling position andthe device into its lockingposition, and alocking dog in the head in position to engage the outerside of the nose of a companion coupler entering the head and press itlaterally to prevent the two interlocked hooks from separating as longas the links are locked in their coupling positions.

5. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and anopening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, along link in and extending lengthwise of the nose, the link having atits front end a hook to interlock with a similar hook on a companioncoupler :and being hinged at its rear end so as to be movable from acoupling position in which the hook protrudes from the inner side of thenose to -a retracted position, the hook being shaped to cause both hooksin two coupled heads to be forced into their retracted positions whenthe hooks are unlocked and the heads pull apart, a device to lock thelink in the coupling position, means to shift the device into a releaseposition, means controlled by movement of the link as it swings backinto the retracted position again to force the link into the couplingposition and the device into its locking position, and a locking dog inthe head in position to engage the outer side of the nose in a companioncoupler entering the head and press it laterally to prevent the twointerlocked hooks from separating as long as the links are locked intheir coupling positions.

6. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and anopening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler,means in said opening to engage the nose of the companion coupler andyieldingly press it toward the aforesaid nose, a long link in the headand extending lengthwise of the head into the nose, the link having atits front end a hook and being hinged at its rear end so as to bemovable from a coupling Position in which the hook protrudes from theinner side of the nose, to interlock with a similar hook on thecompanion coupler, to a retracted position, a dog to lock the link inthe coupling position, a spring acting on said dog to hold the same inboth its locking and its release position, depending on whether the doghas been moved by other means in one direction or the other past apredetermined intermediate point, means on the link to cause the dog to'be forced past said intermediate point from the release position whentwo couplers draw apart, and cooperating cam surfaces :on the link andthe dog then to drive the link into its coupling position.

7.. In a tight lock coupler, a coupler head having a forwardlyprojecting nose and an opening beside the latter for the reception of anose of a companion coupler, means in said opening to engage the nose ofthe companion coupler and yield-ingly press it toward the aforesaidnose, a long link in the head and extending lengthwise of the head intothe nose, the link having at its forward end a hook and being hinged atits rear end so as to be movable between a retracted position and acoupling position wherein the hook protrudes from the inner side of thenose to interloc'k with the like hook in a companion coupler, a dogmounted in the head on the outer side of the link for movements betweenan idle release position and a position in which it looks the link .inits coupling position, a spring device acting on said dog to hold thesame in the locking position or the release position depending onwhether the dog has been moved by other means in one direction or theother past a predetermined intermediate point, an actuator to move thedog into its release position, and means actuated by the link to movethe dog from its release position past said predetermined point.

"8. A coupler as set forth in claim 7, wherein the link .and the-dog areprovided with cooperating cam urfaces to cause the link to be swung intoits coupling position bythe dog when the dog moves from the releaseposition to the locking position.

'9. A coupler as set forth in claim 7, wherein the dog "is mounted forswinging movements about an axis eccentric to rotatable bearing blocks,and wherein the actuator for the dog has therewith .a connectioncontaining a lost motion and also has a connection with the bearingblocks such' that these move .in unison with the actuator.

.10, A coupler as set forth in claim '7, wherein the bearing blocks :andthe dog are connected by 'a pin and :slot to permit limited relativerotary movements, and wherein the spring device and the actuator areconnected to the pin.

11. A coupler as set forth in claim 7, wherein the bearing blocks andthe dog are connected by a pin and slot to permit limited relativerotary movements, the spring device is connected to the pin so as tomove in unison therewith, the actuator contains a long slot throughwhich the pin extends, and wherein there is a spring tending constantlyto hold the actuator in a position that permits the dog to occupy itslocking position.

12. A coupler as set forth in claim 7, wherein the means acting on thenose of the oncoming coupler to press it laterally is a swinging,springheld locking cam block that lies in the path of a nose in anoncoming coupler so as to be pushed back by that nose and then drop backbeside the latter to press the hooks on the two cooperating noses intotight engagement with each other.

'13. A coupler head having at one side a forwardly projecting nose,means on the other side of the head to engage the incoming nose of acompanion coupler and yieldingly press it toward the aforesaid nose, along link in the head and extending lengthwise of the head into thenose, the link having at its front end a hook to engage a like hook in acompanion coupler and being hinged at its rear end for swingingmovements between a retracted position in which the hook is withdrawninto the nose to a coupling position in which the hook protrudes fromthe inner side of the nose, a stop to arrest the link when it reachesthe coupling position, said hook being shaped to cause it to be pressedback into its retracted position by a link in a companion coupler whentwo couplers pull apart from each other, a movable dog in the headbeyond the outer side of the link to lock the latter in its couplingposition, a spring device acting on the dog to move it into its lockingposition or a release position depending on the direction in which thedog has been moved by other means past an intermediate point between thelocking and the release positions, an actuator for said dog, a rockerhaving one end located near the link with other end lying near the dogwhen the latter is in its release position, and. an element on the linkthat engages the rocker when the link swings into the retracted positionand turns it far enough to drive the dog from its release position pastsaid intermediate point.

14. A coupler head as set forth in claim 13, wherein the dog and thelink have thereon cooperating cam elements to cause the dog to drive thelink back to its coupling position, upon separation of two coupler headsfrom each other, after the rocker has moved the dog from its releaseposition past the dead center of the spring device.

HERBERT E. VAN DORN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name Date 1,403,657 Van Dorn Jan. 17,1922 1,989,894 Tomlinson Feb. 5, 1935 2,164,969 Van Dorn July 4, 1939

